So much so that the group of training providers throughout the region for NOF - formerly the Northern Offshore Federation - are upbeat over the increasing need for engineering training.

In a statement, the organisation says: "Latest figures suggest a quiet revolution has been going on, flying in the face of recent publicity.

"The image of engineering in the UK has suffered in recent times but here in the North-east things have taken a definite turn for the better."

The organisation cites Middlesbrough-based training companies TTE, which has 200 advanced apprentices undergoing training, and the Faraday Centre, which has recently opened a new centre to help with expansion plans in marine, light industrial and low voltage courses.

NOF training manager Jack Hanwell believes the upturn is due to a number of factors, and says: "Schools and pupils appear to be looking at the big projects seen recently in the region, and there has been the well-documented shortage of plumbers and skilled trades, the expansion of aerospace training facilities and the realisation that engineers are able to work all over the world and make a very good living.

"This renewed appetite for engineering courses at all levels means that employers and individuals look set to reap the benefits in the near future."

With nine Centres of Vocational excellence in the North-east, the NOF statement adds: "We are well served in terms of training provision to accommodate the upturn.

"All providers have reported a growth in areas such as advanced apprenticeships, flexibility skills, technical courses and a host of bespoke courses aimed at serving the existing adult workforces as employers strive to keep up with technology and process improvements.

"This is also good news for the industries working in renewable energies as those companies prepare to face a host of new challenges.

"One thing for certain, however, is that the resilience shown by engineering in the past will continue to serve it well in the competitive world of the future."

* NOF is a trade association representing and supporting companies in the region who supply to the offshore, marine and renewable energy industries.